It's different
by OrangeLovePerson
Summary: A few years into the relationship, Hermione and Ron discuss the topic of jealousy. (Not in an angsty or angry context, though. Sorry?)


_(A.N.: Okay, it's definitely not my best, but now I'll just post it anyway. Hope someone enjoys!)_

"So, er, what have you two been talking about?", Ron wondered, sounding a little too casual even to his own ears. One of his palms reached up to scratch his neck distractedly.

"Not much, really. He thinks I might be able to solve the Knockturn-Alley case in the matter of the next month, - remember, that awful lady who locked her house-elf in a small drawer for several weeks, without any food or water? And then, later, she punched him for hours with a book, Ron! A book!"

"Yeah, I remember that one", Ron responded, smiling despite himself at her incredulous reaction to both aspects of this. It was probably a combination straight out of Hermione's most dreadful nightmares: Someone disrespecting a house-elf, and someone disrespecting books. No wonder she was so furious!

But, well, actually it wasn't the kind of thing Hermione was having nightmares about, of course... There were still a whole lot of memories coming to mind quicker, he knew...

Hermione once again pulled him out of his thoughts by carrying on. "Well, anyway, Jason doesn't want me to focus too much on that whole situation, the neighbours are all pretty talkative, after all. It's such a relief to know that more people out there start to take house-elf rights seriously! So, instead, I'm going to work through the Wilbert Leylem file again, and then there's another addition to the goblin protection act that we are trying to get through... And Tiffany might help us with a bit of interrogation and things like that. It's really nice to have her back in the crew again, she's so funny! Anyway, how was your day, Ron?"

He was looking at her carefree expression across the table, chewing and contemplating this. He had been distractedly watching the long tendrils of curly, crazy hair bounce around her fork as she dipped her head a tiny fraction to pick a noodle up from it with her mouth... She was so happy, and so beautiful, and it had only been two days since he'd come home from his last Auror mission. Two days of laughter and kisses and spending every minute of free time cosily in bed together, at that, too. And still, here Ron sat, watching her with a feeling of lingering flurry, just because she happened to have talked to her boss today... To that slimy, suspicious Jason Divish guy, who happened to be the current department head of the rather young office of muggle-, goblin- and house-elf protection. He also happened to be an idiot,- not half as smart or passionate about what they where doing as Hermione was. Which didn't hinder that bloke from trying to flirt with her quite regularly...

"Ron, you're not... upset again, right? Not because of something so unimportant?", Hermione queried, gently meeting his gaze as he stared back.

"Is he still.. bothering you?", Ron asked, trying very hard to let his gritted teeth not make an appearance in the sound of his voice.

Hermione sighed. "So that means you are upset?"

"He's not even trying to be low-key about it, every time I visit you in your office, that git suddenly leaves the room, eyeing me weirdly, and then he's asking you out for a date the next day? That's just pathetic, that is!"

"He might just be looking weirdly at you because you glare at him all the time, Ron!", Hermione told him, rolling her eyes. "And the fact that Divish is being a little rude sometimes, and constantly asking me whether you and I are still together or if I'm free next weekend just proves that he could never, ever be more than a colleague to me in the first place. Behaving like that is not very clever."

"Yeah, because seriously, if I wasn't thinking about you and your career, I'd definitely have punched that bloke purple by now!", Ron rumbled, shoving a few leftover vegetables around on his plate.

"No, I mean...", she clicked her tongue, trying to find the right words.

"He might be alright to work with, and I like that we accomplish things together, but..." Her fingernails drew random patterns across the tablecloth.

"Okay, so imagine you and I had an entirely horrible relationship, which I couldn't wait to get rid of."

"Yeah?", Ron mumbled, expectantly, wanting her to continue. He didn't like the direction in which these thoughts were going.

"Even then... Trying to interfere and break us up by all means, for an outsider, would be still a really poor advice. Someone who does that wouldn't seem like a really good or trustworthy person, right?"

"No", Ron agreed. "Would seem really pathetic, I suppose..."

"That's why I'm so glad I didn't interfere in sixth year, when you were together with Lavender...", she carried on, looking at her hands on the table, "Even though I practically _knew_ that you'd rather be together with me, and even though I wasn't angry any more, and really, really wanted the same thing... I never actually considered to give you... a big push in the right direction, or something like that. I'm glad I didn't."

"Hang on!", Ron insisted, eyes slightly widened and jaw almost hanging open. "How did this conversation go from your horrible colleague to you? That was an entirely different case!"

"I know Ron", she replied, glancing up at him with a slightly apologetic smile, "I just mean...-"

"You mean that you wouldn't have liked the idea of breaking me and Lavender up on purpose, okay, but that's because you are a ridiculously good person, and because it was my turn to finally do something about this whole shitty mess that was all my fault in the first place! But that doesn't mean that it would have made you less... attractive or something.. if you had split us up. We belong together after all, you and me, don't we?"

It was merely a rhetorical question. Hermione's fingers brushed over his knuckles as she beamed.

"Yes, I suppose we do.", she said, laughing at his scandalised face.

"Merlin, woman, get a grip!", Ron growled jokingly, and she laughed even harder.

"I just think that.. Maybe we would belong less together if I was the kind of person who actively steals other people's boyfriends, no matter under what circumstances.", Hermione explained, more serious again.

"I guess that might be true.", Ron admitted, rubbing his ear, "But I can't really say much to that, can I? If you'd ever really have had the kind of "relationship" with anyone that me and Lavender had... You know, with the public snogging and all.. I'd probably done absolutely everything to make you get rid of the guy straight away. I wouldn't have waited for it to just.. stop.."

"That scenario is entirely different, Ron!", Hermione interfered, looking horror-struck, and he found himself grinning again.

"Oh, really? How so?", Ron smirked.

"By the time you and her got together, I'd already made a real effort to get things going with you, Ron!", Hermione explained, rolling her eyes as if that was obvious. "I asked you to come with me to Slughorn's party, and you said yes, and then you suddenly became all grumpy at me a few days later, and started snogging Lavender..-"

"- Sorry about that, again!",- Ron exclaimed, regretfully..

"Thanks, Ron, but that's not the point right now. I just mean that, since I'd already shown interest in you at that point, me suddenly starting to snog someone else would give you a perfectly legit reason to talk to me about what's going on. And perhaps even try to win me back in the process, that wouldn't be a crime."

"It really comes down to "All's fair in love and war", doesn't it?", Ron pointed out.

"Exactly.", she nodded. "I love you, so there's not much you could have done wrong in such a scenario. Whereas Divish is just an idiot who inappropriately flirts with me. End of story."

Ron chuckled, picking up a remaining piece of onion with his fork and chewing on it. "Can you say that again? I mean, the whole 'Divish is an idiot' -part?"

She rolled her eyes adorably, but answered anyway.

"He doesn't know me at all! We've been working together for months now, and yesterday he seriously put _four_ spoons of sugar in my tea. Can you believe that? Four spoons, Ron!"

Ron rumbled with laughter, and almost spit the big gulp of lemonade he'd just been about to drink on his plate. Gosh, he loved her.

"How dare he?", Ron gasped in false shock, and Hermione's murmured reply came with a coy grin.

"I know, right? He doesn't stand a chance against Ron Weasley."

-The end.


End file.
